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Reef President on sales structure changes

Shop-eat-surf talked with Reef President Jeff Moore about changes in Reef’s sales structure.

Reef has had several management changes over the past few years and as a result the sales structure has changed as well.

Reef is owned by VF Corp., which reported in a recent earnings conference call that Reef is experiencing a “nice turnaround.” In the first quarter, Reef’s global revenue rose 18%, and revenue in the Americas increased 21%.

VF named Jeff president in September, 2010.

How is it going at Reef?

Reef is going well. There is a tremendous amount of passion, creativity, and general connection with the brand that employees exude on a daily basis. We've spent a lot of time as an executive team over the last eight months ensuring that all departments are clearly aligned with brand strategy and ensuring our decision-making reflects this newfound commitment.

Under the last president, Jim Gerson, Reef moved its sales structure from using 20 independent sales reps in different parts of the country to creating five “super reps,” who controlled more territory and focused on the action sports and outdoor markets. It was a model Jim used at The Northface.

Yes, the sales agency model is what Jim was accustomed to and familiar with and, therefore, implemented the same infrastructure when he arrived at Reef.

How did you change it?

We changed it by informing the "Super Reps" 30 days prior to the change that we would be going back to a traditional rep serviced area that reports directly to the Sales Director versus a peer.

Why did you change it?

Two reasons:

First, since reps are on the "front line" everyday both servicing accounts and elevating our brand, we need to ensure we have a direct connectivity to information versus having a layered communication model.

Secondly, we wanted to ensure our "Super Reps" focused on their own regions to continue our brand growth without having distractions of managing other territories.

How have retailers responded?

Our retail partners are very supportive of our brand and just want to ensure, regardless of structure, we deliver on time, offer a high level of service, and follow through with our commitments. I believe we will have a higher success rate with our current sales structure.